Canada Is Booming As Safe Vacation Spot

June 13, 1986|By Andrew Cohen, EDITORIAL RESEARCH REPORTS

TORONTO — Lured by a weak Canadia dollar, advertising campaigns and fear of terrorism abroad, vacationing Americans are flocking to Canada. If the trend continues, this will be a record year for Canadian tourism.

In the first three months of 1986, 1.3 million Americans visited Canada and stayed more than one night, an increase of 16 percent over the same period last year. And the real tourist season is only beginning.

But the early data could be somewhat misleading. International airline offices and travel agencies in the United States have recently reported an increase in bookings to Europe, attributing it to lowered concern about terrorism.

The American dollar, worth about $1.35 Canadian, has greater purchasing power on this side of the border -- unlike in Europe, where its value has been eroding. For Canadians, a weaker dollar makes trips south of the border more expensive. Traditionally, more Canadians visit the United States than Americans visit Canada, which explains why Canada suffered a $484 million tourism deficit with the United States last year.

To draw more American visitors, the government has launched a $20 million advertising campaign. Instead of promoting Canada as the Great White North -- the land of moose, mountains and Mounties -- it stresses the country's diversity. It features neon lights, cabarets and rock music, cobbled streets, British redcoats, French bistros and Old World architecture.

The government changed its appeals when sureys indictated most Americans thought of Canada only in terms of wildlife and wilderness. The polls suggested they liked Canada but found it boring. They weren't interested in coming to see its natural beauty, which they have at home, preferring to tour cities and experience something new.

One region getting special mention this year is Vancouver, British Columbia, the country's only big city on the west coast. It is the site of Expo 86, a world's fair on transportation that also celebrates the centenary of the city's founding. By itself, the fair is expected to draw several million Americans to Canada. Expo 86 officials are counting on three of every 10 visitors being American.

Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario, also expect a surge in American vacationers. And cruise ships that would have sailed the Mediterranean are now going to Canada's west coast.

Tourism officials and Canadian consulates in the United States report that requests for information have tripled in recent months. They note that Americans say they want to visit Canada this year, more than anything, because they think it is friendly and safe.